


Blue Mush

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Solo Lives, Extra Treat, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25478488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Rey and Ben have a new mouth to feed.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 58
Collections: Eat Drink and Make Merry 2020





	Blue Mush

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Isilloth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isilloth/gifts).



"But what are we going to feed her?" Ben is pacing again. His mood hasn't turned dark yet, and this is progress. Ben wants to be himself, not the spiteful twin he carries along inside him, but it's a battle every day between them. Rey listens to his dreams each night as she sleeps next to him and knows he loses the fights there most often. He's getting a solid handle on his temper during his waking hours. He's going to need that control now.

Rey checks on the infant again. She's human, not more than a few months old, and her parents are dead. She's too small to know she's lost everything. Rey has already promised herself this little one will lose nothing else. She needs a home, and they'll give her that, raising her in the use of the powers Rey and Ben can already feel echoing inside her. She'll need a name, and clean cloths for her bottom, and hundreds of other things Rey can't even consider yet.

But Ben is right. They'll need to find a way to feed her first.

The baby squirms, waking from her brief nap. Rey, who rarely even had dolls as a child, reaches awkwardly into the makeshift cradle, put together from a small half-crate. "Babies eat mush, don't they?"

Ben stops pacing and frowns. "Not babies this small."

"Then we'll ask someone. Lando and Chewie both had children." She lifts the infant and tries to hold her. Ben reaches for her.

"Not like that." He places her against his shoulder, where she settles into a snuggle as he rocks her with a gentle jiggle. Rey's heart unexpectedly flutters two beats before settling. She felt the same the first time she saw him pick up this child as they fought their way free. 

"We might have some milk left."

Rey still remembers her first tall, blue glass, shoved into her hands at the first Resistance base back on D'Qar. She'd come back from Starkiller Base, shocked and grieving and full of unwanted knowledge, and Ben's mother, who'd been as full of pain if not more, had steered Rey into the mess and sat her down and placed two full plates of food in front of her. Rey had been overcome with awe at the abundance. She remembers with lingering shame that she'd cadged protein bars into her pockets before Leia had explained to her with enormous kindness that food would be available to her at any time upon request.

She goes to the galley of their small ship. There's a bit of milk left, and a closed cup with a spout. She considers for a long moment, then opens the food preserver. Ben made doli rice for dinner last night, which seems like a year ago. The flavor was too mild for her tastes but now it mashes into a squishy paste which mixes well with the milk. She warms the concoction then blends it thoroughly before rejoining Ben. "Try this."

He takes the cup from her, giving a long, suspicious look at the contents. "I'm not sure about this."

"We can buy her something better when we reach our next planet, and you can swallow your pride and ask your uncles what they suggest before we get there."

His glare darts to her, and for a moment, she sees the darker part of him ready to rise to her challenge. He takes a breath, and he holds the spout of the cup to the baby's mouth. It takes her two tries before she gets the spout between her lips and can suck on the contents as Ben slowly tips it towards her. Anger or not, inexperience or not, he's good at this. The baby makes grunting, happy sounds, and in response, Ben's face cracks into a pleased smile that warms Rey to her toes.

"We could name her after your mother."

Ben freezes. "We will not. Naming children after people is a terrible idea." He shifts the baby to an easier hold, tipping the milk into her mouth. "You wind up seeing the person you used to love, and comparing them. She deserves to live her own life and decide her own destiny."

Rey disagrees, but she recognizes when Ben has made up his mind. The argument isn't worth it. "We could call her Destiny."

He makes a displeased face. Unexpectedly, the baby grins at him around the spout of her makeshift bottle, and something in his eyes goes soft. Rey feels the strange flip in her heart again.

"Des isn't a bad name," Ben admits and makes another face, watching the baby's expressions change as she watches him back and drinks her dinner.

She still needs diapers, and a better place to sleep than a crate with blankets. This will be an enormous undertaking, and one they hadn't expected to take on so soon. But Rey thinks they've made a fine start.


End file.
